Times will change, and people will too
by NightHawk1950
Summary: Robin can not deal with a terrible deed he has commited, one he can't even remember! He leaves tht Titan's and becomes Night Wing of Gotham. On night a stranger turns up at Smiths Jewelry, a stranger that will completly turn his new world up side down! (F


Chapter 1

It was a cold, blustery day. There was rain on the air, and he could sense it. Yet he sat there, at the top of Titan's Tower, replaying what he could remember of the last week's events in his mind. He couldn't remember everything, it came back in flashes. Two horrible flashes. He woke up in a room, strapped to a table, with a needle in his arm. He didn't know where he was, or why he was there. He lay there, watching helplessly as the needle injected some type of clear liquid into his arm. He struggled, trying to get free from his bonds, or at least to get the needle out of his arm, but he could barely move his head, much less the rest of his body. He heard a deep rumbling laugh in the corner as he continued to struggle, holding on to some insane hope that he could get free. A voice, filled with some type of sick amusement said, "Come now, my son. You can not escape, so why even try?" Slade walked into view. He walked up to Robin, extended his arm and began patting his head. Robin recoiled at his touch. Slade's face filled with anger, and he raised his hand up to strike Robin- and then he could remember no more. The next he could remember was a girl, struggling beneath him, as he held her down with one hand, a knife at her throat. He remembered a feeling of extreme hate and anger. Inside, one part of him was yelling, screaming filled with rage. Another part of his brain was screaming 'Don't do it! Don't give in. It's all a lie!' But the rage overpowered him. He was hot from it, flushing from it. "Do it my son.' A voice yelled in the background, filling his brain. 'Do it. Kill her before she kills you, just like she killed your family!" He gave out an angry yell, and raised the knife for a quick slash. The girl eyes had no fear, yet she trembled visibly. Instead, her eyes held great sadness, like she had already accepted her fate. Yet she wasn't going to die before she had had her say. She brought her head up, until the knife was pressed against her throat. She whispered into his ear, "Do it Robin. Spare me the pain this life has brought me. I wish you could know the truth though. See the insanity of it all, but you can't. Just like I couldn't." He was momentarily shocked by what the girl had said, and lowered the knife slightly. "Do it! Kill her and get revenge for your family!" The voice in the background screamed. The rage filled him once more, blinding him, and he raised the knife. Suddenly there was a loud screaming, a screaming that filled the very air around him, and Robin jerked from the memory, realizing it was him that was screaming.

There was a loud crash as the door behind him opened up, with Starfire, startled by his screaming, running from it.

"Robin, why do you scream? Are you having the dreams of nightmare?" She asked concerned.

He turned towards her, but he didn't answer her. He couldn't. The team didn't know about it. Any of it. When he had returned, and found out that he had been gone for a week, he had made up some dumb excuse about training in the wild. As far as he knew, it was true. He hoped it was true. He couldn't remember anything of last week, except for those two flashes. Those horrible, horrible flashes. He wasn't even sure if they had really happened. He hoped they hadn't. He shivered as he remembered the look of sadness and certain death in the girl's eyes, as he held the knife to her throat.

Starfire noticed. "Robin, are you coming down with a cold?" she asked concerned. She put her hand up to his forehead, checking to see if he had a temperature. He ducked away from her touch. He was extremely moody, and didn't like it when people touched him these days. He could see the hurt in her eyes, but he didn't care. A week ago he would have apologized for being so cold towards her, but now, he simply didn't care.

"Starfire, I would like it if you would leave me alone. I need to think."

She left, but at the door, turned and gave him a pleading look. He knew that all he would have to do was invite her to come back, to talk to her, and all would be forgiven. He could forget about yesterday, about the last week, about those 'memories' and be happy. Instead he turned away. He heard the iron door slam shut, Starfire sadly excepting his excuse that he needed to think. He didn't really need to though. He had been thinking about it the whole day, up on top of the tower. And he had come to a decision. He knew what he was going to do. He was going to leave. Forever. And he was leaving tonight.

Chapter 2

Three nights later, now calling himself Night Wing, he was walking the streets of Gotham, trying to take his mind of the pain and turmoil raging inside.

_You didn't have to leave…_

_Yes I did!_

_Why?_

_Those memory's… The girl I killed…_

_How do you know they were real memories, and not just nightmares? You didn't kill her, you would remember that._

_Still, I held a knife to a citizen's throat. For all I remember I did kill her!_

_But you didn't. You would remember that. You're not a killer._

_Still…_

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud beeping in his ear. His earphone device was linked to every alarm in the city. A shop was being broken in to. A loud, robotic voice kept repeating the shops name and location. He broke into a run, spanning the distance shortly, heading for "Smiths Jewelry". He got there a few minutes later, barely winded. There was a large hole in the glass door, fragments of glass lying everywhere, and the chain door was tossed aside, as if the thief did not care who knew he was there. Or, to be more accurate, who knew _she_ was there.

As he stepped through the door, he immediately zeroed in on the thief. His heart skipped a beat. The thief was a girl, carrying a bag stuffed to the breaking point with jewels. And there was something oddly familiar about her. Her hair swirled about her shoulders as she turned towards him, catching what little light there was, the color a silky light brown. She wore a tight, long sleeved shirt, midnight blue, with a black hawk in the middle. Her pants were black, and flared at the end. She wore a long black cloak, a hawk decorating the back. She wore simple black tennis shoes. His eyes went back to her face, and he noticed that she wore a mask similar to his own, and one word ran through his mind to describe her, "Beautiful".

He started from his trance as she took a long graceful step, right towards him. "Stop" he said stupidly. She kept walking. "I told you stop, thief!" he said in a dangerous tone. "And if I don't?" she asked quietly. She had a beautiful voice, quiet and melodious. "I'll make you" he answered grimly, pulling a netting device from his belt. He hated to do it, she couldn't be older than 15, and she looked so fragile, but he flung the device at her. Lightning fast, she ran forward, put one hand on the ground, threw the bag in the air, flung her legs over her head, twisted her body up and over the net, landed gracefully, her back facing him, and caught the bag before it hit the ground.

She pulled something out of her cloak, and twisting around, flung it at him. It was already to late when he realized what it was. A poisoned dart. He felt a sting on his neck, and fell down, instantly paralyzed. She walked over to him, and knelt down beside him. She put two fingers around the dart, and gently pulled the dart out of his neck. She drew two vials from her cloak, along with a small piece off cloth. She opened the first vial, and picking up his head, poured the contents into his mouth. "Do not worry, I'm not poisoning you. This is an antidote to the poison. In about five minutes you'll be fine." She unscrewed the top of the next vial, and putting it on the cloth, poured it on the puncture the dart had made. She picked the dart up, and dusting it off, stuck it back into the folds of her cloak. She pushed a few strands of hair out of her face, tucking them behind her ear. "You know, I wasn't supposed to do that.' She indicated the vials lying on the ground. 'If he finds out, he'll have me beaten for sure. So please don't tell anyone." She had been avoiding his eyes, but with her last remark, looked into them. As she looked into his eyes, he noticed that, while the mask looked exactly like his, it exposed her eyes. They were a deep blue color, and he was shocked at the pain and sorrow in them. He held her gaze for a moment longer, but she averted her eyes.

"I don't want to do it' she said, holding the bag up 'Any of it. I have to though, he makes me. If I didn't, he would kill me." The pain in her eyes was unbearable, and he wanted to ask her a million questions. He could feel the effects of the poison wearing off, and he was hoping she would stay a little bit longer. He had seen how fast she was, but he knew he was faster. He might be able to grab her arm, and pin her down. He didn't want to hurt her though. In the distance, he heard the blaring of sirens. 'Idiots!' he thought. 'They had to announce themselves, didn't they?' "I'm sorry Night Wing, but I'm afraid I have to go. If I stay longer, I will soon be seeing the inside of a jail cell. You can hear the sirens even now, can't you? It was nice meeting you, though. I'm afraid we won't have the pleasure again.' She said. Then quietly, almost to herself, she whispered 'He would most definitely beat me."

She stood up and began walking off. He had regained his speech, and called after her "What is your name?" He had been shocked when he used his new name, he didn't think any one knew about it. He certainly looked different; his new suit was black, tights and all, and his cape was metallic silver. But that didn't matter, what mattered was that he got her name. She turned to him, as if surprised someone would care. "I don't have one, but if I did I would like it to be Night Hawk. Hawks are my favorite animals, because they remind me of myself. Solitary. Strong. Yeah, I like that name. Call me Night Hawk." The sirens were right outside the door, and police headlights were blaring into the shop. She started running towards the back of the shop, but seemed to think better of it. She backed up, took a running leap, and somehow propelled herself to the balcony above them. She turned, looked down at him and waved. It was then that the police filed into the shop, shouting at her to put her hands up. For a moment, she seemed like she was going to comply. She slowly turned around and raised her hands into the air. He was instantly suspicious, knowing that she would not give up that easily. He loked around, trying to see things the way she would see them. That's when he got it. He inwardly groaned. He had an idea of what she was going to do. And it was so insane, it just might work. He tried to struggle to his feet, but was pushed back down like a naughty boy in time out. Just as her arms were completely in the air, and some of the police had started filing up the stairs, handcuffs out, ready to take her into custody, she gave a shriek, so loud and eerie; it sent shivers down his spine. The police looked around in confusion, momentarily letting there guards down, and that was all the time she needed. She ran to the handrail overlooking the bottom of the shop, sprang onto it, and took a straight dive towards the floor. Just as it looked like she would hit the floor, and certainly die, she somehow flung her legs over her head, and landed in a crouching, position her hands steadying her. There was a startled silence, and then all the police surged towards her at once. She turned a summersault so forcefully she knocked some of the policemen down. Then she was up, and running out the door. And just like that, in less than two minutes, she was gone, melting into the shadows of Gotham City.

Chapter Three

Ever since his meeting with the mysterious girl, the one who called herself Night Hawk, he walked the streets and rooftops of Gotham City like a man possessed. He wanted to see her, to ask her questions. She was a criminal, he knew that. She had stolen one hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry, and yet she piqued his curiosity. And his sympathy. Who was that man she talked about with such fear? Why did she have to do anything? However, he knew he wasn't the only one looking for her. Half of the city's police force was still looking for her, because of the large amount of jewels she had stolen. He had gotten away from the scene of the robbery just fine, except for an injured pride. The poison had worn off, but it had left behind a sick, drunken feeling. He was getting shakily to his feet when the police arrived. It was embarrassing, but he told them everything that had happened, leaving out what she had said to him. The whole city knew he had been beaten by her, a 'common thief' as she came to be known. He worked three times as hard at catching criminals, to make up for 'The Incident', as he called it. He would answer every alarm, every robbery, expecting it to be her, secretly hoping for it to be her. It never was. She had entered his life, quickly and quietly. She had left it just as fast, even faster.

Daybreak was just beginning when he returned to his loft. It was on the top story of a nice loft complex. From the top story, he could survey Gotham in a one glance. 'Sort of like the old tower' He thought to himself sadly. Angry with himself for remembering the tower, he told himself to shut up and forget about it. He had to stop. The Titans Tower, the Titans, everything about his old life needed to stop. Robin was gone, replaced by Night Wing. He had to stop.

He opened the door to his loft, and was just turning on the light when he heard a familiar voice and a familiar word, both he wanted to forget.

"Robin!" Starfire exclaimed, in a voice filled with hope.

"That's not my name, Starfire. It's Night Wing." He said wearily.

Flipping on the light switch, he saw Starfire sitting on the couch, with a green kitten next to her. Cyborg was standing in the shadows, and Raven was sitting on his window seat, calmly watching the sky.

The green kitten turned into BeastBoy, who shouted, "Yo! My man what is up?" He extended his hand, expecting their usual handshake, but Night Wing brushed right past him into the kitchen. Beast Boy dropped his hand.

"Ro- I mean friend Night Hawk. We desire your company at the tower, and Jump City needs you to.' Starfire said. Then in an undertone she added 'I need you."

He turned from the fridge, startled. Damn her! Why did she have to do this? Didn't she understand that he couldn't be with her, or the Titans? He was different. He wasn't the same. Damn it!

"Starfire, I'd like you to leave. Beast boy, Cyborg, Raven, I want you to leave too. I want you all to leave and never come back. Ever. I'm not Robin. I'm not who you knew." Then turning to Starfire he added, "I'm not the guy you love. And I don't love you." It killed him to say it, but he had just said the words he could never take back. He was really no longer a Titan.

She gave a muffled sob, and then burst from the room crying. Beast boy ran after her, but not before shooting Night Wing the dirtiest look on earth. Cyborg walked out of the room, turning at the door to say, "That's cruel man. That's just cruel."

Night Wing turned to Raven, who had quietly been surveying the whole scene. "I want you to leave. Now." He said quietly.

She turned to go, but while passing him she stopped. "You have changed.' She said quietly. 'Robin is dead. We can not help you, but she can." She continued walking. "Who can?" he asked. In answer, Raven dropped a tiny figurine into his hand, and then walked out the door. For a long time Night Wing just stood there, tears sliding down his face for the life he just lost. He could never be with her. Ever. Robin was dead. But he, Night Wing, was alive. It was a while before he remembered the figurine in his tightly closed fist. He opened it, and examined the small figure. It was about as big as his palm. It was pitch black, with stars strewn over it. And it was in the shape of a hawk.

Chapter 4


End file.
